Established in 1992, NICHE (Nurses Improving Care for Health System Elders) is an initiative of the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing. NICHE is the leading national nurse-driven program designed to help hospitals and healthcare organizations improve the care of older adults.
Goal: Achieve systematic nursing change that will benefit the care of hospitalized older adults
Vision: For all patients 65 and over to be given sensitive and exemplary care.
Mission: Provide principles and tools to stimulate a change in the culture of healthcare facilities to achieve patient-centered care for older adults.
We all know our population is aging! By 2030, the number of Americans age 65 and older is expected to reach 70 million or 20% of the population. While those 65 years of age and older currently comprise only 13%-14% of the US population, they have much higher rates of hospitalization than other age groups. They comprised 37% of medical center discharges and 43% of medical center days.
As the older adult population grows, there will be a significant increase in the demand for health services. The number of older hospitalized patients makes it impractical to segregate all older adults on specific units. This implies embedding such principles at every level to ensure the older adult receives high-quality care throughout their medical center experience, regardless of unit location.
NICHE designation demonstrates a hospital's organizational commitment and continued progress in improving quality, enhancing the patient and family experience, and supporting the hospital and other healthcare organization's efforts to serve its communities.
NICHE resources include online educational programs, methodologies, evidence-based tools, and platforms to foster collaboration with NICHE mentors and other NICHE hospitals.
Patients and family caregivers are key members of the healthcare team. NICHE has developed a number of useful tools and resources for patients and their families to help them cope with hospitalization and communicate better with the healthcare team. These tools and resources include:
| Neil Peig, MSN, RN, PCCN, AGCNS-BC | Valerie Yeo RN, MSN, GNP-BC, NE-BC | Anila Ladak, RN, MSN, CNS, GNP-BC Clinical Nurse Specialist, 5NW Geriatrics UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica anladak@mednet.ucla.edu |
